Have your say

Whisper of democracy

The recent Alberta election, Canadians were told, would be historic. Yet when all was said and done, a pathetic 57 per cent of Albertans voted. Wow. Democracy has spoken, except it was a whisper.

We in Manitoba have nothing to boast about either: in our provincial election, 55 per cent of eligible voters bothered to make their voices heard. Ironically, the worst offenders of this apathy are those with the most to lose: the poor, those on government assistance and of course, students.

The most common reason given for not voting is always the same: "I don't have time." Well, I have an idea that would give those so desperately short of time all the range necessary to participate in our most fundamental right: mandatory voting.

They have done this in Australia and Luxemburg for years: If you can't find a paltry 10 minutes for your country's democratic institutions, you will be fined $50. If the next time, an individual is too preoccupied to make their voice heard, the fine rises to $500; and if their time is of such value that a third time they cannot squeeze in a trip to the ballot box, then perhaps they are just too busy and we should relieve them of their painful burden with a $2,500 fine and six months in jail.

If we aren't careful, apathy will destroy democracy, not with a bang but with a whimper. Mandatory voting is a modest idea to save a fundamental right.

SEAN ROBERT

Winnipeg

Vitriol-laced pen

I believe Frances Russell doth protest too much in her columns about the prime minister, most recently Alberta vote is a gift for Harper (April 25). It is time she lays down her vitriol-laced pen or writes something positive.

This obsession with Harper borders on the fanatical. I have come to the conclusion that she fantasizes about him. This fascination has become unhealthy. May I suggest she walk over to Miss Lonelyhearts' desk and get some counselling or advice on how to deal with her issues?

GILBERT LEVASSEUR

Winnipeg

Nature in the wild

Regarding Eeva Solomon's April 24 letter, Hard-wired to kill, about squirrels doing more harm to bird populations than cats, I'm not sure what her argument is.

Is she saying that because squirrels cause problems for the bird population, cats should be allowed to run free and wreak their havoc?

Squirrels may do the harm, but she is missing one important point. Squirrels are native to Manitoba; cats aren't. Squirrels are part of nature in the wild; humans and cats aren't.

The balance of nature is part of life, unfortunately, and humans and their pets throw that balance out of whack. We may not be able to prevent the harm squirrels do, but cat owners can certainly control the harm their cats do.

KEN McLEAN

Winnipeg

Fish in a barrel

Re: Cub still vulnerable (April 21). Manitoba's upcoming spring bear hunt, a so-called sport that has more in common with shooting a fish in a barrel that legitimate hunting, will ensure that there will be more Makoons to come.

DEBBIE WALL

Winnipeg

Leadership lacking

In his April 24 story New busway too little: author, Bartley Kives highlights facts from a new book about transit around the world by Taras Grescoe.

Grescoe mentions the Vancouver Skytrain (electrically powered), built for Expo '86; the Calgary C-Train, built decades ago and running on electricity in Canada's oil province; the Montreal Metro (electric), built in the 1960s; and the Toronto subway (electric) built in the 1950s.

Grescoe is quoted: "Winnipeg's new bus corridor (diesel powered) barely begins to address the public-transportation needs of a medium-sized city." This in 2012, a full half-century after some of these other cities moved to modern transit systems.

This reality is made all the more depressing because our provincial and municipal governments have no plans to immediately extend this short, almost useless, corridor even as far as the university, and also have no plan or schedule to extend this system to other parts of town.

What does this say about the provincial government, now in its 12th year of power? What does it say of mayors and city councils for the last 40 years, since Stephen Juba imagined a monorail?

SHANE NESTRUCK

Winnipeg

Daffy or Goofy?

Re: Project going down the drain? (April 26). What kind of Mickey Mouse (sorry, Mickey) city council do we have that they would let the water-park proposal get this far without the normal, usual, sensible procedures?

These are our leaders? They have some experience in business? I appreciate the councillors who were vigilant from the beginning, and those who are willing to rethink.

I cannot help but wonder what strings are attached to what and whom, and is anyone following the money? Our city can do, and deserves to do, better.

ORYSIA TRACZ

Winnipeg

ñü

I don't want more time to consider the merits of building a water park at The Forks. I want city council to forget it altogether.

If council is in possession of an extra $7 million, why not fix up the decaying pools and community centres scattered throughout the city, especially the ones in areas where families find themselves hard-pressed to afford other options?

It boggles my mind that we're trying to wrench this concept into a commercial venture and find the silver lining in it by way of the free passes being proposed to provide equal accessibility to it. Who's going to administer the means test and how does one explain to clients of the hotel that they're being asked to share the amenities they've paid for with the general population?

DAN DONAHUE

Winnipeg

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 28, 2012 A19